The Gate Keeper
by Aleck-Xandra
Summary: Urahara had to have tested the Shattered Shaft on someone right? Six years before the substitute shinigami a girl decides to die to keep everyone safe. ZarakiXOC CONSIDERING REWRITING SO WAIT AND SEE I GUESS
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I only own my character Yoshida Kisaki.

Chapter One~ _Guns go BANG!_

Okay I'll admit that it wasn't the best plan I ever came up with, but I had to do something. The situation just escalated; I had it under complete control until his friends arrived. I was completely surrounded by wannabe Yakuza gangsters who had recently taken up terrorizing the neighborhood children. What kind of gangster actually steals lunch money any more anyway? I had beaten the crap out of the one that had been causing problems (he is the guy currently unconscious at my feet). I was going to leave when he buddies showed up. I stood ready to fight them tooth and nail when several of them pulled out switch blades. On the inside I was screaming at myself. Normally I don't get so careless. I should have realized that we were followed. On the outside I was the epitome of calm. The first one charged and I easily disarmed him then broke his nose. I was immensely relieved that they were dumb enough to come at me one at a time. After I took down two more without so much as a scratch they realized that it wasn't going to work that way. The rest of them charged and I got nicked with a knife. Normally I can keep a level head in a fight but this was just stupid. I didn't care anymore if I fatally wounded them. I went all out. I am pretty sure I killed one of them when I shoved his nose into his head. I let out a deep breath when I thought it was over. I heard the gun cock and acted pearly on instinct. I crouched and spun. I launched myself at the guy and twisted his arm. I easily took the slid off the top of the gun kneed him in his junk. He feel to the ground and I pistol whipped the back of his head. He fell down landed face first unconscious. I looked over them then checked to make sure they were all alive. Letting out a relieved sigh I mumbled, "If I could have just killed you all it would have been a lot easier."

I took the sharpie that was always in my back left pocket and flipped the gun guy onto his back. I ripped his shirt open and wrote on his chest; _Ever hurt these kids again and I __**will**__kill you._ I stood to my tallest and left the alley way heading home again. I passed the candy store that _no one_ever goes into to see a guy sitting on the porch. I smile and wave at him. He was dressed in green, all in green. I loved his Geta sandals though had a pair like that at home myself. His bucket hat was a little extreme but okay. He snapped the fan shut that he had been using to either hide the bottom of his face or fan himself I wasn't sure and smiled back. It was almost one of those smiles where he lets you know that he knows. He waved back and I just hurried past. I paused and sighed. I turned around and walked back. He was waiting on the porch. I pointed to the alley and said, "Could you call an ambulance or something. I may have broken a nose or two."

He seemed slightly surprised that I admitted to doing it but far more amused than anything. He nodded and called, "Tessai could you please call the clinic."

A giant of a man came out of the shop with a cordless and said, "Yes boss."

I could feel my jaw wanting to fall open but I grinded my teeth instead. I just smiled and waved again. I turned to leave and the green man asked, "Are you okay?"

I looked down at myself to see the nick leaving a red spot on my white hoodie. I nodded my head and said, "Yeah, just a small nick. I can clean it at home. Thank you though."

Before I could blink he was next to me and said, "I insist. I have supplies inside."

I shook my head and tried to take a step back but his hand landed on my shoulder. I glared at him and said, "I'm fine, it's just a scratch."

He clicked his tongue and said, "Leaving it out in the open like this can cause infection, besides it's deeper then you're letting on."

I rolled my eyes and snapped, "Were you watching the fight or something?"

His fan came out and he covered what little of his face I could see clearly. His hat did the rest, "I might have."

I wanted to pummel the guy but I had a feeling he wouldn't be as easy to beat as those punks. I sighed giving in, "Fine, but just to let you know I am not going to take my shirt off."

At this he seemed slightly crest fallen and said, "But it will get in the way."

He started leading me inside as Tessai watched with slightly narrowed eyes. I made eye contact and mouthed, "_Help me!"_

The green man just dragged me past and inside. I looked around to see tons of candy and quite a bit of adult magazines. I eyed the merchandise wearily and asked, "How do you even afford to keep this place open. I barely ever see anyone in here."

I lived above a grocery store not far from here. A small apartment, but it was rent controlled since the landlord also owned the grocery store and I worked there. I actually delivered groceries here once but the room had quite a few guys in old fashioned shihakushō and the room had gone silent when I stood in the door way and cleared my throat. I pretended not to see the odd guys in uniforms and said, "I have your groceries sir."

The green guy had just smiled and said, "Just set them down."

I did and bowed. When I had stood up again I could have sworn he had a weird look in his eyes like he had just found out something interesting. I said politely, "Have a nice night gentleman."

After that I walked as fast as I could away from the store. The green guy had me sit down at the table in what looked like his kitchen and he left. Tessai walked in wearing a apron and nodded his head at me, "I think introductions are in order. I am Tsukabishi Tessai."

I nodded back with a smile, "My name is Yoshida Kisaki."

He smiled back. The guy may be a giant but he acted more like a teddy bear. He motioned to my sweater, "It will be easier…"

I nodded and proceeded to pull off my hoodie hissing a bit when the 'nick' stung at the movement. Tessai seemed to go into healer mode or something and rolled up my shirt to see the cut. I looked down and had to admit that the cut was pretty deep. I mumbled, "I could have gone to the clinic."

Tessai shook his head and said, "They would be too busy at the moment."

I chuckled weakly and replied rather sheepishly, "I guess. I didn't mean for it to get that out of hand. I should have paid more attention."

The green man returned with some supplies and said, "Yes you should have."

I glared at the man and he just smiled back, "I don't think I've introduced myself yet. I'm Urahara Kisuke."

I hissed again as Tessai started cleaning the wound with the afore mention supplies. I grumbled, "Yoshida Kisaki."

Kisuke took the seat across the table and pulled his fan out again. He nodded and said, "While you're here I was wondering if I could get it arranged to have groceries delivered here once a week."

I couldn't believe he wanted to speak about that know. After he watched me beat the crap out of a group of guys nearly twice my size. I blinked a couple times and said, "Sure, I don't see a problem with that. There was a pattering of feet and a boy burst in, "Boss! There's a Hollow…"

He stopped when he saw me and got a look on his face like he shouldn't have said that. He couldn't have been any older than five. I waved it off the hand that wasn't currently hovering over Tessai's form as he stitched my wound, "It's alright. I've seen those things since I can remember."

He looked at Kisuke who just had a triumphant grin on his face, "Where is it Jinta?"

He pointed in the rough direction of the park and said, "Just outside of the park."

Kisuke stood and said, "Go get Ururu and we'll leave."

He looked down at me and tilted his head as if asking a question. I shrugged as best I could and said, "I grew up next to a temple, stories about the soul society, shinigami, and hollows were really the only ones I heard. How accurate they actually are depends. I still have yet to be eaten for not doing my homework."

This caused him to chuckle and he reached out and tousled my hair. I glared at him and tried to fix my bangs. He walked out but stopped at the entrance to the kitchen. He looked over his shoulder and said, "Get home safely Kisaki-san."

He left just as Tessai rolled down my shirt and handed me a bottle of something. I looked at the label and sputtered, "Can you even read Spanish?"

He looked down at the bottle and said, "It's just for pain."

I chuckled weakly and put it down on the table. I said, "That's fine. I can take a little pain. Thanks Tsukabishi-san."

He smiled at me and turned to the stove. He asked over his shoulder, "Tea?"

I shook my head then amended myself, "No thank you. I would feel better if I got a bit farther away from the scene of the crime. Although I am sure Kurosaki-san will recognize my work."

I grabbed my sweater and stood. Tessai turned slightly towards me with a very serious look on his face and asked, "Why do you fight?"

I looked back at him with a small grin, "I'm good at it and this way at least something good happens in the end. Those guys won't bother anyone any more. Kids should be able to play outside without being afraid; other than that though I don't have a reason. Thanks again, Urahara-san is lucky to have a friend like you."

His eyes squinted for a second and I could see little tears in the corner. Those were the tall tale signs of a oncoming bear hug. I booked it out of the kitchen and only got behind the counter of the store when strong arms enveloped me from behind and squeezed me. Tessai said, "Oh thank you. It's nice to have my work appreciated."

I was going to say something but my attention was caught by the other giant giving us a weird look. A girl with pink hair sat on his shoulder. He were wearing the shihakushō with a added white haori. She was just wearing a plain shihakushō. The sleeves had been ripped off his haori for what reason I could only guess. I squeaked out, "Tsukabishi-san, could you let go?"

He opened his eyes and instantly let go. I was lucky enough to land on my feet. I was also lucky my stitches hadn't ripped. I glanced at the two strangers then Tessai and said, "I better go."

When I turned to leave there stood the pink haired girl with a look of wonder on her face. I waved and said, "Hi."

In a blink she was latched to my torso so she could get a good look at my face. I stumbled a little but stayed standing. I dropped my sweater and held on to her. She asked, "You can see us?"

I blinked and nodded. She asked, "What squad are you from?"

A look of realization crossed my face and I said, "I'm not on a squad. Tsukabishi-san was just stitching up a scratch for me."

A deeper far more dangerous sounding voice asked, "Would that have anything to do with those bodies?"

I blinked and looked at him. I looked over and Tessai my brow furrowed, "Did you ever call the Clinic?"

Tessai seemed to pale a bit and he went to get the phone. I looked back at the other giant and nodded, "Yeah, knife nicked me."

His eyes glanced to my sweater which from this angle looked like it was covered in blood. The pink haired girl in my arms maneuvered herself onto my shoulders and started messing with my hair. I said, "That looks worse than it was."

The pink girls face took up my line of vision when she leaned over my head to look me in the face, "I'm Yachiru!"

I smiled at her, "I'm Kisaki."

She sat up straight and pointed towards the giant, "That's Kenny-can!"

I wasn't sure he would fully appreciate me calling him that. I just nodded a bit nervous around both of them. He seemed intent on keeping the conversation on the fight though, "You took all those guys out yourself?"

He didn't strike me as a talkative guy. I was about to shrug but I didn't want to upset Yachiru so I nodded; "There were just a bunch of punks. I didn't handle the situation very well though; I was just supposed to deal with one of them. He's been beating up some of the kids in the area."

I have no idea where she pulled it out of but the next second she was dangling the dismantled gun in my face, "What's this?"

I made a grab for it but she moved it and said, "No!"

A threatening growl from Kenny was all it took to stop me from grabbing it. I said, "It's a gun. It's rather dangerous."

She gasped and dropped it. It landed rather painfully on my foot and I bit my tongue to stop a groan. I closed my eyes briefly to shake off the pain and opened them to see a slightly amused Kenny. Yachiru said, "Ran-chan told me about those. They go BANG!"

I moved my foot out from under the offending weapon and nodded, "Yeah, they go bang and they shoot. It hurts like hell to get shot; which would make sense it being a small piece of lead traveling nearly the speed of sound."

Tessai had came back and asked worriedly, "You were shot?"

"A long time ago I was, but this time I dismantled the gun before he could squeeze the trigger. It wouldn't have mattered anyway the safety was on. Idiot forgot to turn it off."

Tessai let out a sigh of relief and bent to grab the weapon. I moved out of the way I looked up Yachiru, "I should really get out of here before the police do."

She put on a pout and said, "I don't want Saki-chan to go!"

I grabbed her waist and lifted her over my head and put her down. I winced slightly when I stretched the stitches a bit. I crouched down and smiled. I unhooked my necklace (a simple turtle carved out of hematite on a piece of wax cord) and re-hooked it around her neck. I said, "Here you can have this alright. I don't want to go either little Hime-chan but I have to."

I stood and grabbed my sweater just as sirens could be heard. With a final wave to the group I booked it out of the shop and down the street to get changed and ready for work. My run slowed down to a jog. I looked over my shoulder just as the ambulance went by being driven by Kurosaki-san. I waved sheepishly but the glare was evident on his face for those few seconds I could see him. I scratched the back of my head as I slowed to a walk and turned down a different street. Two blocks later I was at the grocery store. I did my best to hide the bloody parts of my sweater and my t-shirt as I walked inside heading for the back stairs. I bumped into someone and turned to apologize. It was one of our regular costumers. I smiled at him and said, "Sorry about that Ushōda-san."

He smiled back before seeing the blood on my sweater. He brow furrowed in concern and he asked, "Are you alright?"

I sighed and said, "Yes, I fine. It was just a small scratch really. It's been cleaned and dressed already."

He made eye contact with me and said, "You get hurt too often Yoshida-san."

I grinned at him and said, "Well, crime fighting isn't as all it's cracked up to be."

I bowed my head to him and said, "I'll just get changed and be right back."

He nodded with a smile and said, "Alright."

I hurried up stairs and got into the ironically green and white uniform. I brushed my hair and headed back down. I quickly washed my hands at the station in the back and slipped my apron on. Ushōda Hachigen stood at the counter waiting. I wrung up the normal ridiculous amount of food and put them in bags. My boss walked up behind me and said, "She'll help you with the bags."

Hachigen was about to protest but the pleading look in my eyes won him over. He nodded and handed my boss the money. I grabbed some bags and followed him out of the store. We were down the street a bit when he stopped and said, "I appreciate the help Yoshida-san, but…"

I nodded in understanding, "I am not allowed to know where you're staying. I understand. This town is full of secrets. Hell I don't think my day could get any weirder. Sorry about my language. Could I just follow as far as I _am _allowed?"

He nodded and we started walking again. I liked him he was always polite if a little quite. Not to mention the fact that his hair was bright pink as was his mustache. He asked, "What happened today anyway?"

I took a deep breath and started, "Well, I got into a fight with those punks who had been beating up the kids. Took them all down, but one of them nicked me with a knife. I was on my way home when I passed the Shōten that's a couple blocks away from here. On the porch was Urahara-san, the owner. I felt a little guilty about leaving those guys out there so I asked him to call the clinic. He agreed but insisted upon cleaning my wound and ended up dragging me inside where I learned what his name was and was introduced to Tsukabishi –san and Jinta. I was leaving when I meet two other people I am not sure I am allowed to talk about either."

He chuckled a bit and said, "Sounds eventful."

I laughed a bit, "Yeah, I mean what are the odds of meeting two people who are at least 200 cm?"

He shot me a surprised look and I said, "No joke. I know I am not that short, but when you're in a room with two giants it's hard not to feel like it."

A voice shouted from up the street that we just turned onto. We looked up to see a guy with gray hair jogging up to us. I would have accused him of being old but he looked a lot like he was in his early twenties. We stopped and he glared at me for a second, "Who's this?"

The question was obviously meant for Hachigen. I glared at the new comer as Hachigen replied, "This is Yoshida Kisaki, Yoshida-san this is Muguruma Kensei. She was just helping with the food. She works at the grocery store."

He huffed a bit before looking at me. My glare lessened a bit but was still there. He glared back and took the bags. He made a shoeing motion with his hand and said, "Thanks but I got it from here."

I nodded and said, "Have a nice night gentleman."

As I was walking away I heard him ask Hachigen, "Why'd you let her come? Her spiritual pressure could draw attention."

I glanced at them as I turned the corner wondering what the hell was wrong with this town. The rest of my shift was uneventful. I cleaned and closed up and went to bed. I was so exhausted I didn't even dream.


	2. Chapter 2

Speacial thanks to lulusuzu08, I've never had anyone send me a reveiw so fast so THANK YOU!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor do I have the honor of having invented Ding Dongs. I only own Yoshida Kisaki.

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Chapter two~ _Ding Dongs and Ice Packs_

Besides the ghost trying to get peeks in my shower the rest of the week went normal. As usual I got a good lecture from Kurosaki-san about fighting and I once again told him it wouldn't happen again. We both knew it would so he just told me to be careful. Although secretly I think he appreciated what I did seeing as his son Ichigo was one of the victims of that low life punk. I started my shift early on Saturday and gathered the groceries for Kisuke. My boss has been oddly aggravated lately so I made an effort to stay away from him. The walk didn't take long but it was cool this morning so I went extra slow. It was rarely this cool during the summer and I appreciated it. My uniform sleeves were rolled up to my shoulders so as my skin as possible could catch the breeze. I turned down the road for the store and watched three people in Shihakushō land in the street before the store. I sighed and rolled my eyes. It was almost like Kisuke planned this. I didn't speed up deciding to waste his time as well as mine. I walked calmly into the store and waved, "Ohayo, Urahara-san."

Five sets of eyes looked at me. Tessai smiled and said, "Ohayo Yoshida-san. Please follow me."

I started walking to the back completely ignoring the three uniformed shinigami. Kisuke snapped his fan closed and said, "Ohayo Kisaki-san."

I glared at him as I passed. He was deciding to play my game and I am not sure I liked that. I followed Tessai to the kitchen and we put everything away. I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand. It was at least ten degrees warmer in here then it was outside. Tessai patted my back harder than I expected. It was a miracle I didn't fall down. He said, "Boss will have the money."

Oh I knew that green pervert was planning something. I took a deep breath and said, "Your boss creeps me out."

He laughed and said, "He can do that."

He didn't offer anything else as I headed to the shop again. I stepped in to see everyone was still here. I turned to Kisuke and said, "That will be 3,225¥."

He rummaged in his sleeve for a bit. I heard a snort from behind me and one of the men in the room said, "Just get rid of her Urahara, we're wasting time."

It took all my self control to not turn around and kick them. I couldn't stop my eye from twitching though. Kisuke saw this and a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. He pulled out a pez dispenser and put it in my out stretched hand. He just smiled up at me as I turned it over in my hand, "A pez dispenser?"

He nodded his head and patted the back of my hand. That's it. I yanked the fan out of his other head and started bashing him over the head, "YOU CAN'T PAY FOR GROCERIES WITH CANDY, BAKA!"

There was a snigger behind me and I turned and launched the fan at the forehead. It connected with a dull thud and I hissed, "Stuff it."

I turned back to Kisuke who was rubbing his head. In a feat of speed unheard of I snatched his hat and said, "You either pay me or you will severely regret it. My boss hasn't been a good mood lately and I rather not see my job flash before my eyes when I come back with a pez dispenser."

Kisuke didn't seem fazed, "You could always work here."

I heard a mumbled from behind me, "She isn't very beautiful."

My worn down patience couldn't take much more of this. There was a growled response, "The bitch can obviously hear us."

My fist tightened around the hat and Kisuke frowned. I said as calmly as I can manage, "Just give me the money or I'm taking the groceries back."

He sighed, "You're no fun Saki-chan."

A voice asked, "Wait this is Saki-chan. The same one Kasujishi-fukutaicho keeps talking about."

Kisuke counted the money out and put it in my hand. He said, "Keep the candy."

I rolled my eyes and mumbled, "Nice tip."

I turned around to be confronted with three curious males. One of them was bald; one had feathers for eyebrows; the last one was a red head with eyebrows that looked like tattoos and a pair of bad looking sunglasses. I pulled on the hat and said, "Have a nice day cue ball, four eyes," I walked past their dumbfounded faces and tipped my hat at the feathered one, "and good day to you miss."

I then left the store with a huge smile on my face. I looked over my shoulder when I got to the sidewalk to see three very angry shinigami leaving the store behind me. I could hear Kisuke say, "Wait, what about my hat."

I took a deep breath and asked, "Have any of you heard of free running?"

They didn't even acknowledge the question. I chuckled to myself and said, "They call it being an urban ninja."

Without any further stalling I looked forward and took off in a dead run. I heard them calling behind me as I easily cleared a trash can then turned sharply into an alley. I planted my foot on one side of the wall then jumped up. I repeated the action on the other wall and grabbed the fire escape railing. Climbing onto it I jumped up to the next level and continued to climb. I looked down to see three confusing looking shinigami. The red head looked up to see me and pointed. I jumped from the railing to the opposite roof and continued to run. I heard them land behind me I dodged between cooling unites and chimneys heading towards the other end of the roof. I didn't slow as I closed in on it. I flipped over the gap rolling when I landed. I easily stood from my roll and kept going. I looked over my shoulder looking for them and I didn't see them. I knew I wasn't faster than them. I took a right figuring they were waiting on the next roof and headed for the back alley. There was a tall parking garage on the other side of an expansive gap. I grit my teeth and jumped. I grabbed the railing a level down and climbed in. I heard a shout from behind me and looked back briefly to see the bald one with his sword drawn. When I looked forward I saw the car coming at me jumped onto the hood and rolled over the top. I when I got on my feet again I saw the red head in front of me in a wide stance sword drawn. I didn't slow but instead went into a slid and went between his legs. I got back on my feet and head metal singing. I ducked in time to save my neck but not the hat. I dove into a roll and went through the railing leading down the next level. I heard angry growls behind me and I went through the railing to go down another level. I headed between the cars to the back of the parking garage. I jumped onto the railing then flipped down onto dumpster below. I flipped off that and took off down the alley. I was near the end with the feathered man appeared. Being passive about this wasn't going to work for long so I dove into another roll and when my feet were in the right place I straightened out my legs and pushed with my arms. I nailed him under the chin causing him to fall down and me to fly over him. I landed on my feet from years of practice and ran across the street into the park. I glanced behind me to see no one and when I turned around I came face to chest with someone. I stopped. Panting hard I looked up to see Kenny and Yachiru. I gave a weak smile and waved. Kenny raised an eyebrow at me then looked over my shoulder. I followed his gaze to see three _very_ angry men. A nice bruise was already starting to set in on the feathered man's face. They all still had their swords drawn and Kenny asked, "What's going on here?"

I grinned at them and said, "Just three experienced Shinigami chasing one unarmed human."

Yachiru exclaimed, "Are you alright Saki-chan?"

She jumped from Kenny to the ground next to me and grabbed the apron that I wore. I ruffled her hair a bit and said, "I'm fine."

I pulled the pez dispenser out of my pocket and gave it to her. She grinned at me and hugged my leg. I looked up briefly to see an annoyed look on Kenny's face. The good thing about that was he wasn't looking at me. He was glaring at the other guys. They all started saying something to their defense at the same time. It took a lot of effort to not start laughing at them. He finally asked, "Who gave you that Yumichika?"

The feather brain pointed at me and said, "She did, taicho."

I winced slightly then realized they called him captain. That is what the haori must be for. I swallowed slightly as I noticed the triumphant gleam in feather brains eyes. Out of nowhere Kenny started laughed and gave my shoulder a strong whack. I was one again lucky I didn't face plant. I rubbed the back of my head looking at him and chuckled weakly. He looked down at me and said, "It's too bad you're human. I could have used you."

This seemed to tick off the red head, "But Taicho all she really did was run from us!"

Cue ball added, "Yeah! She took off like a coward."

I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms. I growled out, "So being able to pick my battles makes me a coward. I would think you Shinigami had some self control. All I did was call you a couple names; which, by the way baldy, weren't even as bad as you calling me a bitch."

Cue ball ground his teeth and said, "I am not bald!"

Yachiru yelled, "Don't yell at Saki-chan cue ball!"

I snorted trying to suppress a laugh as the bald guy's face and head turned red from anger. I sighed looking at my watch, "I've got to get back to work; you know, do something _productive_."

I ruffled Yachiru's hair and looked at Kenny, "Have fun."

I didn't even look back at the rest of them as I started walking away. Baldy hadn't had enough though. He appeared in front of me and sent a punch at my shoulder. I couldn't block it so it hit, but I spun lessening in the blow and winding up an impressive crescent kick which landed on the right side of his face. His head snapped to the side as I took a few steps back nursing my shoulder. Baldy looked down right pissed and he was about to charge when Kenny yelled, "ENOUGH!"

It was then I realized that in speed I didn't compare at all to any of them. Kenny appeared be between us and grabbed baldy by the collar. I tried to roll my shoulder and winced. It was dislocated. Obviously the only reason I got away from them earlier was this was my home turf and I knew which way to go. Yachiru was by the leg the next second, "Are you alright Saki-chan?"

Baldy struggled a bit, "Her! What about me? She kicked me in the face!"

I heard feather brain add, "She can kick pretty hard too."

Yachiru growled a pink aura surrounding her. She yelled, "Who cares cue ball?"

I sighed and said, "I really need to leave if I want to keep my job."

I winced again and I moved to leave. She stopped me and asked, "what's wrong with your shoulder Saki-chan?"

I shook my head and said, "Nothing I can't fix. I really need to go now Hime-chan."

She grabbed the hand connected to my dislocated arm and I bit back a groan of pain. I closed my eyes and said, "Let go."

A hand landed on my other shoulder and I looked at the owner. The red head looked at my wounded shoulder and said, "It's dislocated."

I growled lightly, "I know that."

He glared at me before quickly grabbed my shoulder and popping it back in. I cried out in surprise and slammed my foot down on his instep. He yelped and jumped back grabbing his foot. I rubbed my shoulder to try and numb the pain but it didn't seem to be working. I sighed looking at the red head, "Thanks and sorry about that; reflex."

He glared at me half heartedly and said, "No problem."

Yachiru tugged my arm again and I could hide the pain better. I crouched down and said, "it's fixed alright. I have to get back to work."

She nodded sadly and I added, "Next time I see you I'll get you some Ding Dongs alright."

She broke into a smile and hugged me. I patted her back then pried her off. I stood up and nodded to Kenny. I looked back at Yumichika and said, "Sorry about the bruise."

As I passed Baldy I mumbled, "Nice punch cue ball."

I think he was too surprised by the complement to do anything about the bald comment. Gripping my pulsing shoulder I started the walk back to work. It took me a little while seeing as I had run away from the grocery store earlier and a very angry store manager stood waiting for me. It was past noon already and I looked like I got into a bar brawl. His face reddened with anger at the sight of me and he pulled me inside when I got in range. He slammed the back room door shut and said, "That's it! You're fired. I can't have you getting into fights when you're on the clock."

I said in my defense, "I didn't get into a fight. I look like this because I ran away from some guys looking for a fight. I'm really sorry boss. I need this job."

He shook his head, "Turn in you uniform and start packing."

He left the room slamming the door again and I sighed. I should have seen this coming. I grabbed some ice out of the back before going following. I put it on my shoulder and fished the money out of my apron. I put it on the counter and said, "That's from Urahara-san."

He didn't even acknowledge me as I headed for the stairs and went to change. I changed out of my uniform and grabbed the duffle bags in the corner of my room. I took my sweet time packing. I left the uniform folded on the bed and refilled the ice bag. I took my bags down stairs and handed the key to my ex-boss. He seemed to have cooled down and looked at me sadly. I didn't say anything to him as I grabbed a couple Ding Dong boxes and paid for them. I carefully put them in a duffle as I started to leave. Once out of the store I turned to head to Kisuke's. I was nearly to the end of the block when Kensei turned around the corner. He raised an eyebrow at me and Hachigen rounded the corner. He saw the ice on my shoulder and asked, "Was there another fight?"

I shook my head and said, "Dislocated it earlier, it's not a big deal."

He saw my bags and asked, "What happened?"

I looked away slightly and said, "Got fired. Boss seemed to think I was in a fight too. No biggie got a different place I can go anyway."

Kensei asked, "Do you get into fights a lot?"

I grinned and looked at him, "You could say that. I got to go. It's nice seeing you again Ushōda-san. Muguruma-san."

I walked around them and headed down the block. I just wanted to find a place to crash for the night. It was warmer now then it was earlier so I was glad I was wearing shorts and a tank top. I headed to Urahara Shōten almost on auto pilot. I looked down at my shoulder which was turning a nice dark purple color. I shook my head and replaced the quickly melting ice. It was a little awkward to have two duffels slung around my shoulders but I lived through it. I arrived at the store to see Kisuke sitting out front again with Jinta and a girl sweeping nearby. I was a little irked to see he had another hat but didn't say anything. I stood there for a second looking at him and he asked, "You got fired?"

I nodded, "Spent too much time running from those guys."

He flipped open his fan and said, "Ururu take her bags to the spare room."

I shook my head and said, "I can do that."

I couldn't actually tell, but I would have sworn he was smirking behind that fan, "No, I need to inform you of your new job details."

The girl walked over to me and bowed. I smiled down and said, "Hi, I'm Kisaki."

She reached out for a bag and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you Kisaki-senpai."

I gave her both my bags and sat down next to Kisuke. I looked at his hat again and asked, "How many of those do you have?"

He shut his fan to reveal a grin, "Enough."

I looked over to see a curious Jinta and smiled, "Nice to see you again Jinta."

He blushed a little and said, "You too."

He hurried inside and I raised an eyebrow, "I thought boys his age were supposed to hate girls."

Kisuke shrugged and said, "Now down to business. You will wear a uniform and be in charge of keeping this building clean. Laundry will be done once a week. We have a washer and dryer here. Any questions?"

I glared at him, "All this for room and board?"

He gave me a lopsided grin and nodded. I sighed very tempted to go find a park bench. I hung my head and asked, "What does this uniform look like?"

He patted my back, "Glad to have you on board Saki-chan."

I growled, "Don't call me that."

The fan was once again opened and he stood up. He said, "I'll show you to your room and give you your uniform. I know you won't be able to lift anything for a little while but well find something for you to do tomorrow."

I followed him inside the last of my dignity gone. Had anyone told me I would be working for a perverted candy store owner I would have laughed, now all I want to do is curl up into a ball and die. He lead me through the store and into the back. There were loud voices coming from the kitchen. As we passed it I looked in to see Yachiru, Yumichika, and the red head. I didn't think anyone saw me until I got plowed down from behind. I landed painfully on my knees and looked behind me to see Yachiru wrapped around my thighs. I sighed and asked, "Could you let go?"

She scrambled back and I stood up picking up the dropped bag of ice water. I put it back on my shoulder and held out my hand. She took it and we caught up to Kisuke. He stood next to an open door Shoji door. He said, "This will be your room. You're uniform is in the closet."

He turned and left at that point. I let go of Yachiru and said, "Wait here."

I went over to one of my bags and grabbed several foil wrapped Ding Dongs. I returned to her and tossed her one. She was jumping up and down. She grabbed the bottom of my shorts and tugged me back in the direction of the kitchen. When he dragged me through the door the conversation stopped. Yumichika looked surprised to see me again along with the red head. I waved the hand with the Ding dongs in it and said, "Hi again. Anyone want a Ding Dong?"

They both looked very curious so I just tossed them each one and sat down at the table. Yachiru had already figured out how to unwrap them and had devoured it. I gave her the last one I had with me when the red head asked, "What are you doing here?"

I looked at him. Repositioning the ice water on my shoulder, "I got fired and since my boss was also my landlord he kicked me out."

The bag on my shoulder was taken out of my hand and I spun to see Tessai going to fill it with more ice. I smiled lightly and said, "Thanks."

I turned back to the table to see a very elated look on Yumichika's face. He frowned slightly at the empty foil wrapper and said, "These are delicious."

I chuckled and said, "Yeah, too bad Urahara-san doesn't sell them, he might actually have customers."

The red head snorted around a mouth full of Ding Dong. I smirked. I looked at Yumichika and said, "How about we start over. I'm Yoshida Kisaki."

I held out my hand to him. He took it lightly and said, "Ayasegawa Yumichika."

We let go and I held out my hand to the red head. He glared at it slightly before taking it, "Abarai Renji."

We let go after he tried squeezing my hand to death. Tessai handed me a fresh bag of ice which I took gratefully. Yumichika said, "You've already met Yachiru and Zaraki-taicho. The bald man from earlier is Madarame Ikkaku."

I nodded and said, "When I met your Zaraki-san I didn't know he was a taicho."

He grinned and asked, "Did you know Yachiru is our Fukutaicho?"

My mouth dropped open and Renji snorted with suppressed laughter. Ikkaku walked into the kitchen and asked, "What's so funny?"

We all looked up and Renji broke into full out laughter. The right side of Ikkaku's face was bruising pretty bad. You could almost see the outline of my sneaker. I said the first thing that came to mind, "I'm out of Ding Dongs."

Yumichika started sniggering. He said, "You can Yoshida-san match."

Ikkaku raised an eyebrow and at his friend then looked at me. I removed the ice to reveal the huge bruise he left. He smirked and said, "I hope that hurts."

Kenny walked stepped up behind Ikkaku and Yachiru called, "Ken-chan!"

She jumped up out of her seat and ran to him. Ikkaku took the vacated seat. I smiled at him and stuck my hand out, "Truce?"

He regarded my hand for a second then shook it, "Truce. I'm Madarame Ikkaku."

I smiled replacing the ice on my shoulder, "Yoshida Kisaki."

Kenny pointed at Renji and Yumichika, "Get moving."

They stood up and left the kitchen. Yachiru crawled into my lap and Kenny took up Yumichika's empty spot. He eyed me and asked, "What are you doing here?"

I sighed figuring I am going to have to explain this a lot, "I got fired. My boss/landlord had a stick up his ass recently and me coming back so late was the proverbial straw. He told me to turn in my uniform and pack. Urahara-san offered me a job and a place to stay."

Yachiru was trying to pour a cup of tea for herself and deciding that I like a dry lap I helped out. Ikkaku asked, "How long have you been able to see us?"

I blew a piece of my bangs out of my face and answered, "For as long as I can remember."

Yachiru yawned and snuggled down into my lap. She nearly buried her head in my chest. I used my free hand to stroke her hair. He continued, "So you know what hollows are and such."

I nodded, "I grew up next to a temple. I used to listen to the old caretaker talk about the soul society, hollows, shinigami, est. I'm pretty sure though not everything he told me was true or the whole story. For instance he used to tell me that if I was a bad child the hollows would come for me. I wasn't an angle child, but I never saw a hollow coming for me. I've seen hollows get killed, I've seen hollows kill. I've even seen hollows talk to each other briefly, but nothing chased me home if I was out after curfew."

Ikkaku snorted into his tea cup and Kenny threw back the last of his tea. He stood up and said, "I'm taking a bath," He looked at me pointedly and for a second I thought he was going to ask me to come, "You watch her."

I fought back the blush at my thoughts and nodded. As he was walking out I said, "I will taicho."

He grunted in reply and left. Once he left I turned to Ikkaku, "What is his name? I've learned just about everybody's name but his and Yachiru's family name. I am pretty sure he doesn't want me calling him Kenny either."

Ikkaku grinned and said, "Zaraki Kenpachi but I'm sure he wouldn't have minded you calling him Kenny."

I raised an eyebrow at him and asked, "What are women scarce in the soul society?"

He shook his head chuckling, "No but there aren't many women who make it into the 11th division and even fewer that he thinks belong there."

I looked down at the bubble gum colored head in my lap, "What about Yachiru?"

"Kasujishi-fukutaicho came with Zaraki-taicho. They've been together since the Rukongai. He actually named her."

I nodded my head pouring myself some tea. I took a sip and asked, "So how many divisions are there?"

Ikkaku sent me a serious look, "You know as a human you're not even supposed to know we exist."

I snorted, "So what _am_ I supposed to think? That all these people running around in traditional shihakushō are in my head? It's not like I'm going to tell anyone anyway. Look where I work."

He looked down at his tea and said, "Thirteen. The 11th division is the brawn. We fight, a lot; never using Kido or demon magic. You could say we're the brute force of the Gotei thirteen."

That made sense. We sat in silence a bit for a while. I took a sip of tea and asked, "So, you got a girlfriend?"

Ikkaku did a spit take and I took another sip of my tea with a smirk on my face.


End file.
